From the Ground Up

After beginning her theatrical work by writing for a collective, Deb Margolin has had an expansive solo career. She shares her comedic impulses, political proclivities, and writing process. She takes us through the highs and lows of socially sustainable work as a playwright who best understands her scripts through the body.

Dell’Arte International faced a financial crisis in 2023. They surpassed their fundraising goal by the end of that year. In this episode, former President and CEO Alyssa Hughlett walks us down the path they took that year to rediscover themselves as a school and an ensemble, and reintroduce the company to their community.

In 2023, Pig Iron Theater Company held the National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute. The institute directors look forward to how the next institute might be adjusted and reveal insight on how the University of the Arts closure will impact Pig Iron School.

In 2023, Pig Iron Theater Company held the National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute. The presenters, some interviewed in this episode, provided in depth perspectives on how their ensemble-based processes created connections to a wide variety of audiences.

Eleven participants share their experiences at the 2023 National Endowment for the Humanities Preserving and Transmitting American Ensemble-Based Theater​​ Institute, which highlighted the impact of devised and physical theatre, its application in professional and university settings, and the limited scholarship around it.

Stewart Pringle, senior dramaturg at the National Theatre, sheds light on the theatre’s Generate program and discusses with Jeffrey Mosser the problem with the term “literary department,” when to take a risk, and why it’s important that the big fish in the big pond makes the investment in smaller-scale ensemble-based companies.

Artistic director of Belgian theatre company Ontroerend Goed, Alexander Devriendt talks through their process for imagining and developing participatory content. Alexander and Jeffrey Mosser also dig into financing art in Europe, the cost of touring internationally and how COVID has affected it, and sustaining family and art simultaneously.

Culture worker and theatre practitioner Dr. Cristal Chanelle Truscott provides a primer on her SoulWork process, applies it to her present processes, and expands our horizons as artists.

Creatives and book authors Mallory Catlett and Aaron Landsman dig into their new book based on their piece City Council Meeting, an exciting performance, rooted in a commonplace bureaucratic event, that develops dynamic participatory relationships with audiences and local government.